Car trouble
by Danym
Summary: What happens when Grissom can’t control himself anymore? [GSR]


Car trouble

By Dany

Rating: T

Summary: What happens when Grissom can't control himself anymore.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI and its characters.

A/N: Yet again, another element challenge that I wrote. Frederica came up with these elements that I had to use:  
-Sara moved out/in and she has not told anyone yet (except for maybe Griss, of course)  
-Greg eavesdropping on two people and misunderstand a situation  
-Catherine getting a surprise when she walks into the locker/dressing room  
-Grissom maxed out on overtime  
-A private party  
-'I don't remember where I parked my car!' said by anyone to anyone  
-A complained filed against Sara and/or Grissom

xxxxx

"I don't remember where I parked my car!"

Grissom's blood was boiling although he appeared to be calm outside.

The man opposite him had caused a tragic accident that had cost a seven-year-old girl her life. She had been playing on the sidewalk, drawing some flowers with chalk, when a car had swerved off of the road, first left then right, onto the sidewalk and had hit her. She hadn't stood a chance.

They had one of the most reliable witnesses: a traffic light camera; and yet they couldn't nail the bastard without his car.

Because the car had swerved into the other lane first, it hadn't been fully in the focus of the camera. They had the license plate and the evidence from the street to prove it was the same car that had hit the girl, but the driver's face on the tape was unrecognizable.

Now they needed the car to prove that no one else had been driving it at the time, but the guy had lawyered up and claimed what every 'smart' guy would: it hadn't been in his possession because it had been stolen.

This one, however, went even further. He was trying to tell them that he couldn't help them at all, because he didn't know where it was stolen. He couldn't remember where he had left it.

The total lack of conscience was driving Grissom mad.

A little girl had died and this piece of shit didn't even care.

"Yeah, right. And I have the pretty baby blue eyes to believe you. Cough it up, where's the car?"

Grissom was glad that Brass was leading the interrogation because he wasn't sure how much longer he could take this. It didn't get him anywhere and it didn't really help, but he was way past angry.

"My client already told you that he doesn't know where his car is. It's no longer in his possession." Lawyers like this made him sick, but what was even worse than the pretense of innocence was the knowing smirk on both of their faces.

They knew as well as he did that this man was guilty and again, they didn't care.

Grissom was feeling the lack of sleep, the extra stress and the pain of having to process these types of cases. It all made his emotions harder to control. Under normal circumstances he would be able to bury these feelings until he was alone. It was pure irony that he could feel the loss of control now, when he had always been the one to lecture Sara about it.

His blood was still boiling.

Brass was getting there as well. "A seven-year-old girl is dead. I don't care about your lousy excuses, I want the truth."

"And I don't care about that stupid brat!"

The suspect looked absolutely terrified as Grissom jumped up and grabbed him by lapels of his designer suit.

He wanted to yell at him, but nothing came out. He could not find the words to express his anger.

As he stared the other man down, he didn't even notice Brass and the lawyer shouting at him and trying to ease his grip.

He did see the suspect, who was not looking smug anymore. He looked downright scared.

Grissom noted that with a deep satisfaction and let go. He stepped back and the other two men let go of him as well.

The lawyer checked if his client was alright, then looked at Grissom and Brass to make his point. "We'll file a complaint."

Grissom only nodded and left the room silently. He didn't care anymore.

xxxxx

It hadn't taken long for Ecklie to find him.

Grissom was already in the locker room, packing up his stuff, when the Assistant Director tracked him down. He already knew what would follow, but he wasn't going to argue. He had no desire to stay here anyway. He just wanted to go home.

"What am I supposed to do?"

For someone who was usually just waiting for a reason to show him who was the boss, Ecklie seemed hesitant. That should have worried Grissom, but he still could not bring himself to care.

He didn't respond, instead staring straight ahead at the wall.

"I don't think I need to tell you that there have to be consequences."

Grissom didn't react and Ecklie continued. "Go home. Use the time to rethink some things. You're maxed out on overtime this month. Maybe you should get some rest. We're both not getting younger."

Ecklie turned back to the door, but before he left he had one more thing to say. "I don't want to see you here for the next two weeks."

He left Grissom behind with his head down.

For minutes, he remained in this position, letting all the impressions of the day sink in. It was all he could do. He had to regain some control before he would be able to walk out.

His brief rest was disturbed again by the click of the door opening. He didn't look up, hoping that whoever it was would go away.

If it had been anyone else, he might have been lucky, but Sara was more concerned about his pain than his wish for privacy.

She sat down next to him, but didn't touch him at first. She just sat beside him, lending him her silent support until he moved. Only then did her hand wander to the nape of his neck, lightly massaging the tense muscles.

He let her do it, but didn't reciprocate in any way. She continued until he felt himself relaxing slowly. Her hand slowly moved down his arm to his hand and she laced her fingers with his.

She waited for him to break the silence and although he didn't know what to say, he wanted to talk to her. "We're not going to get him."

The finality of that statement and the resignation in his voice shot straight to her heart. It hurt her that he was hurt and she didn't know what to do to help him. Realistically, she knew that there was no way to fix something like this, but that didn't keep her from wanting to try.

Although Grissom always tried to present a stoic front in every situation, she knew that most of the times it was nothing but that – a façade.

For a moment, she didn't care where they were and reached for him with her free hand. She pulled him closer and turned, bringing them both into an awkward embrace. Grissom didn't push her away so she held him tighter until he returned the embrace.

It was at that moment that the door to the locker room opened again. Sara had her back to the door so she couldn't see who it was. She heard a gasp and the door closing again, guessing from the sound and the lightness of the footsteps paired with a soft clacker of heels that it probably had been Catherine, but right then, she didn't care.

Apparently, neither did Grissom. He remained as he was and when she pulled back slightly, she could see that he had his eyes closed.

That was her sign that he was ready to go home. "Shift's over. I'll drive us home."

xxxxx

Greg was walking down the hall passing Catherine's office, when he heard something that stopped him short.

"…sleeping with each other?"

Greg stopped short as the words registered in his mind. It was Warrick's voice and he was obviously talking to Catherine.

Greg made sure he was out of sight, and when Catherine spoke, he couldn't resist listening in further. "I think so."

"Okay," Warrick drew out the word, but continued. "But I think this should remain between us. This is something very private. We shouldn't even be talking about this here."

Greg could hear someone advancing from behind him so he hurried on. He did not want to be caught eavesdropping by Catherine. If she got angry, god help him. Next to Grissom, she was the one he knew could do the most damage.

He retreated to the break room, but the conversation would not leave his head. He kept thinking about what he had heard.

Catherine and Warrick were sleeping together? Warrick was married.

He had known that they were attracted to each other, but the way Catherine viewed cheating, especially in marriage, he never would have thought that she would do something like that. Warrick didn't seem one to take commitment lightly either.

So, what was going on?

He was startled out of his thoughts by Nick who grabbed the remnants of his food from the fridge, ready to go home. "Greg, why are you still here? Shift's over."

Greg looked up and saw Warrick passing by.

He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to spill it all to Nick. To prevent himself from doing just that, he bade Nick a hasty goodbye and went after Warrick.

Never in his right mind, would he talk to Catherine, but Warrick seemed less dangerous. It was not right what they did and he had to get that off of his chest. "Warrick?"

He hurried after the other man and caught him outside in the parking lot. "I…I need to talk to you."

Warrick turned around and his face bore a mixture of annoyance, curiosity and bafflement. He seemed to have no idea what this was all about.

Greg tried to find the right words, but there seemed to be none, so he just plowed straight ahead.

"I heard you and Catherine. Why are you doing this to your wife?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to chance anyone overhearing this conversation.

Warrick looked completely taken aback. The level of directness and what Greg was insinuating caught him off guard. For a few minutes, he tried to figure out what to say, but he couldn't find the right words until he understood what Greg thought he had heard.

"Greg, let me tell you that my marriage is not the best right now, but I am not cheating on my wife." He was speaking slow and pronounced, trying to make sure that Greg believed him. "I'm not having an affair with Catherine. No one's having an 'affair.' We were talking about a friend of Catherine's."

Greg looked at the other man and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He had just made a mountain out of a molehill.

Feeling foolish now, he averted his eyes and waited for Warrick to reprimand him. "Next time, please remember that hearing only bits and pieces is never a good thing. Assume nothing, as Grissom always says."

Greg risked a glance at Warrick to judge how angry he was, but found the other man smiling at him.

"You're an honorable guy Greg." Warrick patted his shoulder before getting into his car. For him, this conversation was finished and he wasn't going to hold anything against Greg.

The younger man had had the best intentions and the right morals.

xxxxx

The door shut behind her with a soft click, and she tiptoed through the room until she was standing in front of the couch. Shift had been even more strenuous than usual without Grissom's support.

She lowered herself to her knees and refrained from touching the man sleeping on it. She didn't want to wake him, knowing he needed his sleep, but he looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Carefully, she let her fingers trace his cheekbone, caressing his face. When he didn't wake, she moved her fingers up to his forehead, continuing to trace his features until his eyelids began to flutter.

Slowly his eyes opened and her loving attention was rewarded with a smile.

"You're home," he mumbled, still not fully awake.

She smiled back at him and leaned in. He shut his eyes once more and she placed light kisses on the lids. It was such a gesture of trust on his part that she always had to blink away some tears. He trusted her implicitly. To prove that she was worthy of that trust, she brought her wrist up to his lips and turned it so that the blue veins were visible to him. He opened his eyes and then touched his lips to her skin until he could feel her pulse beating against them.

It was an unusual ritual that had developed between them, but she had come to love these moments of sweet intimacy and endless trust.

This was their moment.

She didn't want to disrupt their little bubble and decided that what she had to tell him could wait until he was ready to hear it.

When she got up again, he followed her and they moved into their bedroom. Grissom lay down on the bed, watching as she stripped herself of the last remnants of work and went into the bathroom to wash it all off.

Sara took her time in the shower, relaxing as the water ran down her skin, taking at least some of the harshness of the night with it.

Her hair was still damp when she finally left the bathroom again, moving to lay down next to Grissom. She was grateful that he left her alone after work. She needed this ritual cleansing and he understood that, using the time to 'clean' his own thoughts.

When she put her head on his shoulder, he focused on her again and took her into his arms. "I missed you."

She hummed into his neck in response and snuggled up closer. "I got a present today."

Grissom looked at her curiously, raising one eyebrow in his usual fashion.

"Catherine gave me the night off."

Now the second eyebrow joined the first and she had to bite her lip not to laugh. He looked so adorable when he did that.

"She knows, but she didn't say anything. Just gave me the night off because I'm close to maxing out as well."

A slow smile spread over Grissom's face. "So we have thirty-six hours just for us?"

Sara nodded, relieved that he felt better. The shock of the case had worn off and he was able to concentrate on his own life again. He was still hurt, but he had regained his balance. Maybe this time together would help him.

His smile grew and she could see that he was making plans. "This calls for a little celebration."

He guided her face up by her chin, meeting her lips with his. It seemed like this was going to be a private party she didn't want to miss.

She let herself get lost in the feelings, deciding that he was definitely not ready.

She would tell him that they had found the car and made the arrest tomorrow.

Life was here and now.

The end


End file.
